Pandora's Box (Daughter of Poseidon, 1)
by scientific
Summary: Pandora's box has been stolen from Hestia. If it falls in the wrong hands (specifically, Moros, god of doom), all hope in the world will be lost, and all evils, hopelessness, and despair will prevail. It is up to Rhode Mcdonald and her friends to save the last string of hope humanity is trying so hard to hold on to.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Rhode Mcdonald.

Yeah, yeah. Rhode Mcdonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o. I get it.

Apparently, I'm not just Rhode Mcdonald, the fourteen-year-old loser.

I'm Rhode Mcdonald, the fourteen-year-old _demigod_ loser.

Yes, you read it right. I'm a demigod. Meaning, I'm half-human, half-god. Not half-God ( _God_ with a capital G is a different matter altogether), but half- _god_ , like those gods and goddesses you probably studied in your Greek mythology classes.

Now, you're probably thinking, _This kid is crazy._ Yeah, I'm not going to disagree with you. Maybe I am crazy. But you have to know, I never chose to have a godly parent.

None of us have.

If you think you're part of the 'us' I'm referring to, stop reading. I've been told that it's more dangerous for demigods to know what they are. When you know too much, they'll find you.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

* * *

The madness truly started when I stabbed a Cyclops in the eye with an umbrella.

I was on my way back home from the store, carrying a paper bag filled with groceries in my right arm and my grandma's favorite pink Hello Kitty umbrella in my left hand, when the Cyclops jumped in my way.

At first, I thought I was hallucinating. Maybe I was just imagining the fact that this big dude in front of me only had one eye. But when he stomped his feet on the ground, yelled, "I am Brontes, best Cyclops of all!" and grinned wickedly at me like he wanted to eat me for dinner, I decided that I wasn't crazy.

I was just unlucky.

Weird things had been happening to me ever since I was little. Once, when my mom had taken me horseback riding, I had thought that I was hearing things, since the horse I was riding was talking to me.

 _Donuts,_ my horse had whinnied in my head. _Do you have donuts?_

I looked at my mom, who was strapping me in. I had asked her if she heard the horse, but my mom had just smiled and told me that the horse just neighed which probably meant that it liked me.

Another time, when I had gone to an aquatic park for a field trip in school, I had been staring at a huge rock in one of the aquariums. I swore there was a woman in there so I didn't leave until she came out. When the woman finally showed herself, I was surprised to see that she had a serpent's tail instead of legs. I had heard her hissing in my head, so I backed away from the aquarium. When I had distanced myself from the snake woman, I heard her voice in my head. She had said, _your time will come._

As I looked at the Cyclops, I thought that it was probably the worst weird thing I'd ever come to face. Not just because he wasn't very pleasing to look at, but also because he was probably already imagining how good I would taste with clam chowder or something.

Brontes, as he said his name was, advanced on me. When he was inches away from me, I did the only thing my brain could come up with at that exact moment-I threw the bag of groceries at him.

Unfortunately, my _brilliant_ move only managed to annoy him. He swatted the bag out of the way and pushed me on my back in the process. At that point, I didn't know what else to do.

When Brontes towered over me, he grinned. "Dinner is served."

He made a move to grab me with his big, meaty hands, but before he could, I thrust my girly umbrella upward, and right into his eye.

"Ow!" He growled. "You're dead meat, half-blood!"

 _Half-blood?_

While he was rubbing his eye, I started to scoot away from him. I knew that the only way to save myself was to blind him (at the very least), but I had no weapon at my disposal-until I saw a shard of glass sitting a few meters away from me. I stood up and ran to get the glass piece. It was the size of a phone, with jagged lines running on the sides, and a pointed tip. It wasn't the most impressive weapon out there, but it would have to do.

When Brontes recovered, he ran toward me, but I was ready for him. But before I could stab him in the eye again, a sword pierced through his chest, and golden-not red, _golden-_ blood poured out of him. Someone pulled the sword out and rolled in front of Brontes. I couldn't see the person's face, because he was facing the Cyclops. Before Brontes could even yell in pain, the sword guy stabbed his eye with the tip of his sword.

Everything happened so fast, even Brontes was in shock. It wasn't long before he dissolved into nothingness.

The guy who had just saved me from Brontes' clutches faced me with a small grin on his face. He was probably a little older than me, maybe sixteen. He had messy, black, windblown hair, and the greenest eyes I had ever seen. He was tall and a little lean; it was like he worked out for a few months then stopped because he was too lazy to continue. He smelled like the ocean, which made me think of home, but I didn't know why. He was pretty cute, with the smile on his face that made him look like he just put a whoopee cushion on his least favorite teacher's seat instead of him taking out a Cyclops twice his size.

"Hey," he said to me, "you okay?"

I could've played it all cool and said, "Yeah, I had it under control," but all that came out was, "Uhuh."

He laughed as he put his hand out for me to shake. "I'm Percy."

"Uh." I shook my head and told myself to get it together. When my brain finally processed everything that had just happened, my body went into defense mode. I held the glass shard in front of my face, pointing the tip of the glass at 'Percy'. "What are you?"

"Woah," Percy said, holding up his hands. "I need to get you to safety before I can explain everything."

" _Safety?_ " I said. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you have a family?" He asked, ignoring my question. "A mom? Dad? Who do you live with?"

"Now, wait just a moment-"

Suddenly, I heard bat wings flapping closely behind me. Percy's eyes widened in alarm. I looked behind me and saw a hideous old lady with bat-like wings glaring at Percy and me. The old lady was even scarier than the cyclops. My legs trembled from under me.

"You have to come with me," Percy said. When I didn't respond, he grabbed my arm and yelled, "Now!"

I scrambled after him, not knowing what we were going to do or where we were going to go. The old lady flew behind us and hissed, "Percy Jackson and Rhode Mcdonald, ssstop!"

As we ran, Percy asked, "Your name is Rhode Mcdonald?"

"Shut up!"

When the old lady gained on us, Percy pushed me in front of him and swung his sword. I heard the old demon lady screech and the sound of disintegrating behind me, and I knew that she was gone.

"What," I gasped for air, "was that?"

"Ms. Dodds," Percy said seriously.

"Who?"

"She's a Kindly One," Percy said. "Better known as one of the Furies."

"Fury?" I said. I scratched my head, trying to comprehend what had just happened. "This is crazy."

"You have to come with me," Percy said. "You're obviously a demigod. Two monsters in a row, though? You must be a powerful one."

"Wait," I said, "a demigod? _I'm_ a demigod?"

Percy nodded. "I know it sounds crazy. The first time someone told me my father was a Greek god, I couldn't believe it either. But trust me, those gods and goddesses-those tales you call 'myths'? They're all real."

Even though what Percy was saying sounded impossible, I believed him. I mean, I saw the cyclops and the Fury that tried to kill me all in one day. They were real. And if Greek mythological creatures were real, then the gods and goddesses I had read about for my English class were real too.

"I-I believe you," I said, "but I still have so many questions."

"It'll all be clearer to you once I get you to camp," Percy said.

"Wait, camp?" I asked. "What camp? Like...a summer camp?"

"Camp Half-Blood," Percy said. "It's the only safe place for you and me-the only safe place for demigods."

"How do I know this isn't a trap?"

Percy grinned. "Maybe you can introduce me to your family."


	2. Chapter 2

On the way back to my house, I had told Percy that I didn't know who my dad was because he left my mom even before I had been born, and that my mom had died two years ago due to a car accident, and since then, my grandmother took me in. She lived alone, so it wasn't so difficult for her to accept me into her home.

I knew that it was a little weird for me to share such a personal part of my life to someone I had just met, but he _did_ save me from monsters. Twice. I figured I kind of owed him.

When we arrived at my house, I took my keys out from my pocket and opened the door. I immediately smelled my grandma's homemade chocolate chip cookies. Luckily for me, my grandmother loved cooking and baking, and she was really good at it too.

"How is my favorite _apo_?" She asked as I walked in the kitchen. My grandmother, or _Lola_ as I had always called her, was Filipino; my grandfather, on the other hand, was American. My grandma, along with her siblings, had migrated from the Philippines to America when she was a little over her twenties, so she still knew how to speak in our mother tongue. I, unfortunately, did not, but I was taught how to say a few words and terms, and I could understand the language because _Lola_ insisted that my mother talked to me in Filipino sometimes when she was still alive.

"I'm fine, _Lola_ ," I said. I gestured to Percy, who was standing awkwardly at my side. " _Lola,_ I brought a friend."

 _Lola_ smiled at Percy. "Hello, dear. I am Melinda Garcia Mcdonald, but you can call me _Lola._ "

"Where did Lola come from?" Percy asked.

" _Lola_ means 'grandmother' in Filipino," _Lola_ said with a smile. "What is your name, _iho_?"

Percy blinked. "Percy Jackson, Ma'am-I mean, _Lola._ "

"So," _Lola_ said, bringing Percy and me a plate of freshly baked cookies and two glasses of milk, "why did you bring a boy into our house, Rhode?"

"Uh," Percy raised his hand, "that might be my fault."

"Percy," I started, "you don't have to-"

"Who is Rhode's father?" Percy blurted out.

I stared at him with my mouth hung open. I already told him about my father, or at least everything I knew, which wasn't much. Mom never really liked talking about Dad, which was why I didn't know much about him. Whenever I tried to ask _Lola_ about it, she would always evade the question. I thought she was going to change the subject again, like she always did, but surprisingly, she just looked at Percy and sighed. "You are the one, I presume."

I thought Percy would know what she meant by that, but when I looked at him, he seemed just as confused as I was. "I'm the one?"

"You are the one who is going to take my _apo_ -my granddaughter, Rhode, from me," _Lola_ said. "I have been waiting for you, dear boy."

"Oh," Percy said, "you have?"

 _Lola_ nodded and turned to me. "All I ever wanted was for you to be safe, Rhode. Your father told me someone was going to bring you to a safe place."

"You-you spoke to my father?" I asked quietly.

"He spoke to me in my dreams, child," _Lola_ said gently.

"Dreams," Percy muttered beside me.

"Who-who is my father?" I asked.

 _Lola's_ eyes darkened. "I cannot tell you. You will find out on his terms. I assure you, he will make himself known to you very soon. But first, you must go with this boy. He will lead you closer to your father."

"I…" My eyebrows scrunched up. " _Lola…_ "

"You must hurry," _Lola_ said. "They will find you now. Percy, take care of my _apo,_ okay?"

"I will," Percy said, a look of determination spread across his face.

"Go," _Lola_ said, clasping her hands around mine. "Be safe, both of you."

I followed Percy out of our house without another word. I didn't really know what else to do. I trusted my grandmother with my life. If she said that I had to go with Percy, then go with him I shall.

Percy called a cab. Once we climbed in, I looked at my house one last time. I had a feeling I wasn't going to see _Lola_ for a while.


	3. Chapter 3

"You okay?"

Percy and I were in the cab heading to Long Island, which was where Camp Half-Blood was located, according to Percy. I had been silent since I entered the car, which was probably why Percy seemed concerned. He understood that I was having a tough time with all of this mythology stuff, and I appreciated that he was trying to look out for me despite knowing me for only a few hours.

"Yeah," I said, "it's just...hard to process, that's all."

"You surprised me, though," Percy said. "You believed me quicker than most"-he paused and looked at the taxi driver-" _kids_ would believe anyone who told them they were half-you-know-what. Did you...know anything?"

"Not really," I said. "I just had a feeling that something weird was going on."

Percy nodded. "Well, you're not alone anymore. Where we're going, there's hundreds of us who will go through all those _weird things_ together."

I smiled. I was glad that I was with someone who knew how to make me feel better. That was a first, since all I ever had in my life were enemies. I never really knew what it felt like to have a friend.

I knew that Percy and I couldn't really talk about anything demigod-related, so we just sat in silence until we reached our destination.

When we finally arrived, Percy paid the cab driver. He looked at us weirdly, obviously confused as to why we were getting down in the middle of nowhere. In front of us was a whole field of strawberries and nothing more.

We got down from the car, and the driver sped off. Percy led me toward the top of the hill, which was where the entrance to camp was.

Percy smiled at me and said, "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

* * *

It was a pretty busy day at camp.

As Percy led me through the field, I could see some kids fighting with real weapons, like swords, javelins, and archer bows. Some campers were just walking along, enjoying the weather, and greeted Percy along the way. They looked at me but ignored me since they didn't know who I was. Percy reassured me that they were nice, but they were just shy.

Percy paused in front of a big, blue building with a white trim. It had a bronze eagle weathervane instead of the usual rooster, which I found really cool.

"This is the Big House," Percy said, gesturing toward the building.

A man walked out to meet us at the entrance. Well, he wasn't exactly a _man,_ I realized. His upper body was definitely human, but from the waist down, where his legs should be...was half a horse instead.

"Hey, Chiron," Percy greeted the horse dude. "This is Rhode."

"Hello, Rhode," horse man-I mean, _Chiron_ said.

"You can talk?" I blurted out. Chiron looked taken aback, but Percy just looked amused. "I mean, you're"-I gestured toward the lower half of his body-"you know."

"I'm afraid I don't know, child," Chiron said.

Wow, a horse with a sense of humor. That was new.

Percy laughed. "Come on, Chiron. Give her a break."

Chiron gave me a small smile. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood. Come along, Rhode. I'll introduce you to our camp director."

"Wait," I said, "what-what are you?"

Chiron looked at Percy with his eyebrow raised, then turned back to me. "Are you sure you don't know?"

In all honesty, I wasn't sure _at first._ I tried to look for what horse-humans were called in Greek mythology in my brain. It took me a while to process, but after thinking about it, I finally realized what he was.

"You're a centaur," I said. "You're _the_ Chiron, the one who taught Achilles and Hercules and Perseus..."

Chiron smiled. "Yes, child."

"Yes, yes, Chiron's cool," Percy interjected, "but Percy Jackson's cooler. Right, Chiron?"

Chiron frowned jokingly. "I don't think anyone has ever said that, Percy."

I stifled a laugh. "I've heard of Chiron, but I've never heard of a Percy Jackson. Was he a fat satyr?"

"Ha ha," Percy deadpanned.

Chiron chuckled. "Come now, you two. Mr. D's waiting."

"Waiting for what, exactly?"

Chiron whirled around to find a short, plump man wearing the brightest purple shirt I had ever seen standing at the doorway. He was holding a Diet Coke can in his hand, and was looking at us like we were the last people (and centaur) he wanted to talk to.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Mr. D, we have a new camper."

Mr. D raised his eyebrow but didn't say anything else, as if he were saying, _So?_

"I think she's pretty powerful," Percy said. "Two monsters came after her in one day-a Cyclops and a Kindly One. That's not normal at all, is it?"

Chiron seemed to turn pale as a sheet. "A Cyclops and a Kindly One?" He turned to me. "Rhode, how old are you?"

"I'm fourteen," I answered slowly.

"And you survived all these years," Chiron muttered to himself, but I heard him. He cleared his throat and forced a smile. "Percy, show Rhode to the Hermes cabin."

"But Chiron," Percy said, "shouldn't she be claimed by now?"

"Maybe her parent doesn't care about her," Mr. D said nonchalantly, sipping from his soda can. He looked at me blankly. "You're certainly not mine."

"Your godly parent will claim you soon enough, child," Chiron said to me, ignoring Mr. D's insensitive comment.

"Claim me?" I asked, then I turned to Mr. D. "And what did you mean, 'I'm certainly not yours'?"

Mr. D rolled his eyes. "Chiron, why do you keep every single new camper guessing? Do I have to do the introductions by myself _all_ the time?" He looked at me. "Since Chiron wants you to guess, then _guess_ , Rodeo McKinley-"

"It's Rhode Mcdonald," I corrected.

"-but since you probably can't tell, I'll give you a little hint," Mr. D said. He held his Diet Coke can out and instantly, it turned into a glass of wine.

"Mr. D," Chiron said, "your restrictions."

"Bah!" Mr. D waved his hand and turned the glass of wine back into its original form.

By then, I had already figured out who he was, but I decided to annoy him a little bit. "You're...Diolicious, the wine god!"

I received different reactions from the three people that were standing with me. Percy burst out laughing, Chiron looked at me like he could already hear the songs playing in my funeral, and Mr. D was glaring at me.

"Dionysus, Red McIntyre," Mr. D snapped, "and don't you forget it. You're lucky I'm in a good mood, otherwise I would have already turned you into-"

"An Atlantic bottlenose dolphin?" Percy said. I had a feeling he wasn't guessing.

Dionysus glowered at Percy. "Peter Johnson-"

"Percy," Chiron started, possibly stopping Dionysus from turning Percy into something worse than a dolphin, "I suggest you take Rhode to the Hermes cabin now. I doubt you'd have to sleep there anyway, Rhode, unless Hermes is your father. The gods usually claim their children the second they get to Camp Half-Blood. Your godly parent is just a little late, I suppose."

As Percy led me toward the Hermes cabin, I spoke a silent prayer (when we try to talk to the Greek gods and goddesses, do we call it a 'prayer'?) to whoever my dad was.

 _Whoever you are,_ I thought, _I hope you guide me through this, because I'm terrified and confused and also kind of excited all at once._


	4. Chapter 4

When we reached the cabins, Percy explained to me that each cabin represented a different god and goddess. At first, there were only twelve cabins for the Olympians but they added eight more this summer.

Before we reached the Hermes cabin, Cabin Eleven, someone yelled Percy's name. Percy turned and smiled behind him as the girl who called his name ran up to him.

When I turned to see who the girl was, I was taken aback by the color of her eyes. It was the first time I had ever seen someone with gray eyes; it was scary, yet fascinating at the same time. She had blond hair that was tied into a ponytail, which somehow matched her stormy eyes. She was wearing an orange shirt that I assumed said, 'Camp Half-Blood' (I was kind of dyslexic. I could read, but it usually took me a while.) and jeans.

The blond girl tackled Percy and kissed him in front of me. I didn't know if I was supposed to look away. Everything happened so fast.

My first thought was, _Of course someone as nice and strong as Percy Jackson had a girlfriend._

When the girl pulled away, she turned to look at me. She had a small smile on her face, but because of how calculating her eyes looked, I couldn't tell if she wanted to say hi, or if she wanted to kill me for standing beside her boyfriend.

"Hi," the girl said, holding her hand out for me to shake, "I'm Annabeth."

"I'm Rhode," I said, shaking her hand.

Annabeth turned to Percy. "So this is is the girl?"

Percy nodded. "I think she's really powerful. Two monsters found her in _one_ day."

Annabeth's eyes grew. " _Two?_ Have you told Chiron?"

"Of course," Percy said. "She hasn't been claimed yet, though, so I'm taking her to Hermes."

Annabeth frowned. "It's been awhile since we had an undetermined demigod."

"Uh, guys," I said, "I'm still here."

"Right!" Percy said. "Come on, Hermes is that way."

The three of us walked up to an old and worn-out cabin. Its brown paint was peeling off, and it had a staff with two snakes wrapped around it over the door-the symbol of Hermes.

Percy opened the door. A bunch of kids were inside, doing their own thing, but stopped when Percy stepped in.

"Hey guys," Percy said, raising his hand in greeting, "this is Rhode. She's a new camper. Make her feel welcome, okay?"

One of the guys in the cabin walked up to me and put his arm around my shoulders. "Nice, a new sister. We've got a little initiation ceremony here in the Hermes cabin for new siblings-"

"Travis," Annabeth said, "she's undetermined."

Travis frowned. "But-"

"But nothing," Annabeth said with finality in her voice. "Just be nice, okay? I'm sure her parent will claim her soon."

She didn't sound so sure.

"You don't sound so sure," Travis muttered.

"Hey," Percy warned, "Rhode _will_ find out who her godly parent soon is, okay?" He put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Rhode."

I gave him a small smile. I was grateful that he was trying his best to make me feel comfortable. "Thanks."

"Well, there's an extra bunk here," a boy who looked exactly like Travis said, pointing to an empty bed nearest the door. "You can stay here, Rhode. I'm Connor Stoll, by the way, and Travis is my brother."

I nodded. "I figured."

"Well," Percy started, "Annabeth and I could give you a tour around camp now, if you want, unless you want to take a nap first."

"No, I'm good," I said. I waved my hand in front of me. "Lead the way."

* * *

Percy and Annabeth introduced every cabin to me one by one. Each cabin had its own design; no two cabins looked the same. I silently hoped that Ares wasn't my father, because judging from their cabin, they didn't look like a peaceful bunch. The Aphrodite cabin was really pretty, but I already had a mom, and I wasn't really into the whole 'love and beauty' thing anyway.

When we stopped in front of Cabin Three, I fought the urge to step inside. Annabeth had told me that we weren't allowed to just step into anyone's cabin, unless we had good reason to. I doubted that 'having a good feeling' was a good enough reason to enter a cabin without permission. Cabin Three wasn't the prettiest cabin, but it was the one that drew me in the most. It reminded me of the ocean, and the ocean was always my favorite place to be, especially when my mom was still alive.

"This is my cabin," Percy said. "Poseidon's my father."

"Does anyone else stay here?" I asked.

"My brother, Tyson, comes here sometimes," Percy said, "but most of the time, it's just me. Tyson's usually working under the sea. He's the general of my dad's Cyclops army."

"Wait," I said, "your brother is a Cyclops?"

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other. Annabeth spoke gently: "Tyson's a good Cyclops, Rhode. The best, actually."

I shuddered when I remembered the Cyclops that attacked me this morning. I was left unscathed, but I knew it was enough to give me nightmares.

"Let's move on," Percy said.

They showed me everything else around camp-the climbing wall which poured lava (it looked cool, but I was hesitant to try it out anytime soon), the dining pavilion (Percy said we had to sit by cabin, so I had to sit with the Hermes kids tonight), the stables (the pegasi asked me for donuts, but I had to tell them I didn't have any), the armory, the camp forge, and the forest. I was utterly amazed at the fact that everything I was seeing was so _real_.

When we got back to the cabins, Percy said, "Dinner will start in an hour. Do you want me to accompany you first?"

I felt bad that Percy was being so nice to me, even though he didn't have to be. He probably wanted to spend some time with Annabeth, so I said, "No, it's fine. I guess I'll just sleep for a bit."

Percy looked hesitant to leave me. He seemed kind of protective of me, like how an older brother would be toward his little sister, but maybe that was because he had seen me get attacked by a Cyclops and chased by a Fury today, and he probably felt bad for me.

"Percy, it's fine," I assured him. "Thank you, though. Both of you."

Annabeth smiled. "We're here if you need us, Rhode."

It definitely felt weird to hear that, but it felt nice too. I waved goodbye to both of them and headed to the Hermes cabin. When I entered, nobody minded me, but I was kind of relieved because I didn't feel like talking to anyone. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't. My brain was thinking about everything that had happened today, so I just got up and left the cabin.

I decided to walk around for a bit to try to clear my mind. I walked behind the cabins to get nearer to the ocean. I wanted to sit by the sea, but before I could, someone bumped into me, causing me to fall on the ground.

"Watch it."

A boy who was probably my age was glaring down at me. He had black hair that was shorter at the sides and longer on top. His eyes were purple, which I never knew was possible. He was glaring down at me, but it was kind of hard to take him seriously with the Christmas Coke bottle in his hand.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The boy rolled his eyes. "What's it to you?"

I frowned. I'd dealt with enough bullies to know that this guy was probably one too. "I don't know, I was just asking."

He paused briefly before saying, "Ben Allocco."

My nose scrunched up. "Allocco?"

He growled. "Shut up."

Ben Allocco took a sip from his Coke bottle, then spun around and left.

Great, my first day here and someone already didn't like me. What's new?

I turned to face the ocean. I sat there for a while, thinking about my mom. I thought of her face, the way she smiled at me whenever I did something stupid.

Before I knew it, it was time for dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

I followed the Hermes cabin into the dining pavilion. I didn't really know anyone here except for Connor and Travis, but because they were the head counselors, they were in front of the line, while I was dead last. I wasn't really up to chatting with anyone, anyway, so I didn't really mind.

When we sat down, Connor and Travis took the seats on either side of me. They were both grinning at me mischievously, which kind of scared me.

"So, newbie," Travis said, "you ready to have the best meal of your life?"

"Uh, sure?" I said.

"Don't worry," Connor said, "the wood nymphs will give you all the food you need. Also, all you have to do is speak your glass, and it'll fill itself with the drink of your choice. Try asking for alcohol."

Travis grinned. "Yeah, Rhode. Try it."

I had a feeling Mr. D was going to vaporize me on the spot if he found out that I had asked for alcohol, so I just said, "I'll stick with non-alcoholic drinks, thanks."

Travis shrugged. "Your loss."

Connor and Travis ignored me after that. I decided to ask for a strawberry milkshake, and my glass filled it up on its own. Before I took a sip, I suddenly remembered _Lola's_ homemade strawberry milkshake and how much I wanted it. When I drank from my glass, I was surprised by the taste of my milkshake. It tasted _just_ like how _Lola_ made it.

When the wood nymphs finished serving our food, everyone started to get up with their plates. I didn't know what else to do, so I followed.

Connor walked beside me. "Before we eat, we have to offer the best piece on our plates to the gods out of respect."

I nodded as he pushed a huge piece of steak into the flames and said, "Hermes."

When it was my turn, I did the same thing as Connor, except instead of saying, "Hermes," I whispered: "Who are you?" to no one in particular.

I stood up and got ready to go back to my seat when I noticed everyone staring at me. Percy stood up abruptly from the Poseidon table and said, "No way."

I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide in there forever. I absolutely _hated_ attention. Having everyone stop what they were doing to stare at me was making me feel embarrassed.

Percy walked over to me, still gaping. I realized that he wasn't staring at _me_ , but instead, was staring at the space above me. I looked around to see everyone doing the same.

"You're…" Percy trailed off.

Chiron trotted up to me and frowned. "Rhode…"

"Dad wasn't joking when he said he was going to start sending more brothers and sisters," Percy muttered to himself.

I looked up to see a glowing blue trident above my head. I tried to move away, but it followed me wherever my head went.

Chiron cleared his throat and faced the other campers. "Earthshaker, Stormbreaker, Father of Horses. Hail, Rhode Mcdonald, Daughter of the Sea God."

* * *

Chiron arranged that I moved to Cabin Three immediately. I hadn't really brought anything with me, which was quite dumb, so it was easier to transfer. Annabeth gave me a bunch of new clothes from the convenience store and also from her closet, which I was very grateful for.

 _I'd do anything to help my boyfriend's sister,_ she had said with a wink.

Percy and I were in our cabin. He hadn't said much on the way here, but now, it looked like he wanted to say a lot of things, he just didn't know where to start.

"I can't believe this is happening," Percy said. "I have a _sister_. I mean, I was so used to the cyclopes and the pegasi and everything else, but I never imagined that I was going to meet another Poseidon demigod…"

"I'm...sorry?" I tried.

Percy shook his head. "No, Rhode. It's cool that you're here. I just hadn't expected it, that's all. 'The Big Three' gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, made a pact after World War II. They vowed never to have children with mortals anymore because their demigod kids were too powerful. My-I mean, _our_ dad, Poseidon, broke the oath by having me. So did Zeus. His daughter, Thalia Grace, is a friend of mine. I thought Poseidon only broke the pact once…you know, with me. That's why I was so shocked about having you as my sister."

"Oh," I said. "Oh my…"

Percy frowned. "What is it?"

"We're related to cyclopes...and pegasi…"

He laughed. "I was pretty freaked, too."

I looked at Percy and laughed with him. "Jeez, that's weird. Is that why I can understand horses?"

"You've talked to one before?" Percy asked.

"A horse talked to me _._ I thought I was going crazy. It was talking in my head."

"Yeah, we can kind of speak horse," Percy said. "I have a pegasus, Blackjack, and I'm the only one who could talk to him. Well, I guess you'd be able to understand him now, too."

"I guess this is a bad time to tell you that I thought you were cute," I blurted out.

Percy coughed. "What?"

"I thought you were cute when I first saw you." I shook my head. "Ew, that's so gross. I can't believe I almost crushed on my _brother._ "

Percy looked flustered. "Well, uh…"

"Don't worry, _bro,_ " I said, "you're not my type anymore."

Percy frowned. "I'm not?"

I punched him in the shoulder. "May I remind you that we're _siblings_?"

"But I thought I was everyone's type…" Percy muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh my gods, how does Annabeth stand you?"

Percy grinned, seeming to get over my little, awkward confession. "I don't really know. Ask her."

I decided to change the subject. I didn't really want to talk about this whole I-thought-he-was-cute-but-turns-out-he's-my-brother-which-is-really-gross issue anymore. "Anything else I need to know about being Poseidon's daughter?"

"You can probably control water," Percy said. He walked toward the fountain in the middle of the room. It was shut off, but Percy waved his hand and the whole fountain came to life. Water started flowing from the top into the base, but turned back off when Percy put his hand out to stop it.

"Try turning it on," Percy said.

"What? How?"

"Just concentrate on the water," Percy said, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. "As children of Poseidon, everything is easier when it comes to water."

I stepped forward and closed my eyes. I put my hands up in front of me subconsciously, just because it felt right. I willed the water to flow, and suddenly, I felt a tug in my gut. A second later, I heard the sound of the fountain working in front of me. I opened my eyes and saw Percy beaming at me.

"Nice one," Percy said.

"Thanks," I said meekly. Percy was right. When I concentrated on the water, it didn't seem as difficult as I thought it would be.

"This is so awesome," Percy said. "We'll be unbeatable tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?"

Percy grinned. "Capture the Flag."


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, Annabeth decided to help me look for a weapon for Capture the Flag. I didn't know if someone as inexperienced as me was going to survive, but it didn't seem like I had a choice. When Percy had explained the game to me yesterday, I tried my best to keep a straight face, but I ended up panicking in front of him. He had promised that he was going to protect me at all costs, but it didn't stop me from feeling nervous about the game tonight.

"After you choose a weapon, Percy and I will teach you the basics of physical combat," Annabeth said. "Percy's a really good swordsman, and I can help you with battle strategies."

When she saw the look of panic that flashed across my face, she smiled. "Hey, don't worry, Rhode. You'll do great."

I gave her a grateful smile. She led me to the back of the Athena cabin, where she had said that they stored some weapons.

"Usually, the Hephaestus cabin provides the weapons," Annabeth said, "but we have some of our own."

While Annabeth spoke about the different kinds of weapons, I stared at one sword in particular. It wasn't as long as Percy's sword, or any other normal-sized sword. It was so silver, it was almost blue. The blade didn't look like any of the other swords that were stashed in the weaponry. Annabeth saw me looking at it, and she picked it up and held it out for me to hold.

"That's the sword of Peleus," Annabeth said. "He was Thetis' husband and Achilles' father. He believed that his sword was a symbol of victory. I can see why you'd want it."

I held it and knew right away that this was the right sword, because it felt balanced in my hands.

"I think I'll keep it," I said. "I mean, if that's okay."

"Of course," Annabeth said. "Now, let's call Percy."

* * *

Percy and Annabeth had led me to the arena. While Percy taught me the basic parries, blocks, rolls, and dodges, Annabeth sat down, yelling some battle tactics at me as Percy and I tried out the moves he showed me. Percy beat me every single time, but I didn't really care. It was kind of fun learning how to fight, especially since I liked my teachers.

After a while, Percy told me to take a break. I put my sword down and drank some water. When I put my bottle down, I saw Ben Allocco on the other side of the arena. He was glaring in my direction. At first, I thought it was because he was angry at me for no particular reason, but then I realized that maybe it was his usual facial expression. I walked over to him, and he raised his eyebrow at me.

When I was inches away from him, I said, "Hey."

His eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

"You were glaring so hard at me I thought you were trying to communicate with me telepathically," I said.

He shook his head and stood up. "Whatever."

Before he could leave, I put my hand out in front of him to stop him. "Fight me."

"Uh, what?"

"Come on, _Allocco,_ " I teased, "let's play."

His face darkened. "No thanks."

"It's just a little fun," I said, "or are you too chicken to accept?"

He shook his head. "You don't know what you're asking for."

"Ugh," I said. I didn't know why I was being so insistent. Maybe I wanted to annoy him because he was being so mean. "Come on, Ben-"

Before I even had time to blink, Ben had disarmed me using one of the techniques Percy taught me. But he wasn't done-making me lose my weapon hadn't satisfied him. He twisted me around while holding onto my arm and pushed me to the ground, his knee on my back, holding me in place.

"Ow," I muttered.

"Rhode!" I heard Percy yelling from the other side of the arena. Footsteps echoed on the ground, then I saw two pairs of sneakers in front of my face.

"Ben, get off of her," Annabeth said.

"She started it," Ben snapped.

"Ben, get off of her," Annabeth repeated, " _now._ "

I heard Ben huff above me. He probably rolled his eyes as he lifted himself off of the ground. I turned around on my back and stared at him. I hadn't expected him to be so strong and fast. I knew it was a stupid idea for me to challenge him to a friendly match-I mean, what did I expect? Did I really think that I had a chance to beat a camper who was here way before I was?

But then again, I didn't expect to win against him at all. I knew in myself that the real reason why I had challenged him was because I thought that there was a chance that he would lighten up. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and I just ended up on the ground, embarrassed that I had been defeated so easily.

"What are you looking at?" Ben asked angrily.

"Nothing," I said.

Ben stalked away without another word. Percy held his hand out for me, and I took it. He pulled me up to my feet and asked: "What happened? Are you okay?"

I dusted myself off and said, "I'm fine. I kind of annoyed him so he kind of tried to kill me."

Annabeth sighed. "You really shouldn't try to agitate him, Rhode. Ben's really temperamental."

"I'm sorry," I said automatically.

"Ben's a nice kid," Percy said, "but I understand why he's so moody. He probably gets it from his dad."

"His dad?" I waited.

"Oh," Annabeth said, "you didn't know? His dad's our camp director, Mr. D-Dionysus."


	7. Chapter 7

It was time for Capture the Flag.

I wasn't gonna lie-I was terrified. Percy reassured me that he wouldn't leave my side, but it didn't help calm my nerves. I didn't understand how the campers thought of this as their idea of _fun._

Percy and I were sitting in the Poseidon table when the Athena campers ran into the pavilion carrying a gray banner with an owl and an olive tree. From the other side of the pavilion, the Ares kids ran in with a red banner with a boar and a spear. Percy had explained that the Athena and Ares cabins usually led the teams.

"Whose team are we on?" I asked.

Percy grinned. "Annabeth's."

When Percy said Annabeth's name, I heard a lot of pride in his voice. It warmed my heart to see my, uh, brother being so supportive of his girlfriend. I kind of wished that I had someone like that with me.

Chiron announced the respective teams. Athena's allies were Apollo, Hermes, and Poseidon, while Ares had everyone else to back them up: Dionysus, Demeter, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite.

"Déjà vu," Percy muttered to himself.

"Huh?" I asked.

"When I was a new camper," Percy started, "the teams were the same, except I was with the Hermes kids, and Poseidon didn't really have a representative. Then after the games, Dad claimed me as his kid in front of everyone."

He proceeded to tell me what he had thought of the other team: Aphrodite kids never really played, Demeter kids weren't very aggressive, Dionysus kids were skilled, but there were only two of them (including Ben-the thought had me worried, considering he beat me in two seconds flat this afternoon). Percy told me that the only cabin we had to worry about was Ares.

Chiron stomped his hoof on the ground and proceeded to announce the rules, which everyone probably knew, except for me.

I repeated the rules in my head: _creek-boundary line, magic items-allowed, no killing or maiming._

I liked the last rule.

When Chiron yelled, "Arm yourselves!" and presented us with a table full of equipment, everyone yelled and ran to the table. I looked at Percy and he just stayed in his place with his hand in his pocket. He took out a pen, which I had never seen before, and uncapped it. Suddenly, it grew into his sword-the sword he had used to save my life.

I just realized that I never saw Percy put his sword away. It had just disappeared when we went to my house, and I never put any thought into it.

"Your sword…" I said.

"Yeah. This is Riptide," he said.

"It was a pen."

"Yeah."

"A pen...and a sword…"

"Yup."

"Wow."

Percy chuckled. "Chiron gave it to me. It's a pen most of the time, but when I uncap it, it becomes a sword. I never lose it because it always returns to my pocket."

My eyes grew in amazement. "Wow."

"You have your own weapon, right?" Percy asked.

"Yeah," I said, showing him Peleus' sword.

"Let's get you a shield," Percy said.

Percy led me toward the table and gave me a normal-sized shield. I held it in my arms and told him thanks.

"What are big brothers for?" He grinned.

I felt like Percy was liking this 'big brother' thing he had going on a little too much. I wasn't complaining, but if we ever reached the point where he'd want to take pictures everywhere and make postcards and send them to Dad or something (were we allowed to send stuff to the gods?), I was going to have to stage an intervention.

Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

The campers on our team all cheered and hit their weapons on the ground. I looked at Percy, who was doing the same thing as they were, and I followed. We marched toward the south woods, where we were going to place our banner.

"I volunteered us for border patrol," Percy said. "I figured being near the river would calm your nerves."

I was relieved. I didn't care if Percy was playing the protective older brother role. The words 'being near the river' were music to my ears. Even though I'd only known that Poseidon was my father yesterday, I always knew that water always calmed me.

When we reached the creek, Percy stood by me. We waited for campers to attack us, but no one came. I had thought we were safe, and that I didn't need to fight.

Guess I was wrong.

I heard someone emerge from the bushes to my left. Following my instincts, I ducked and sidestepped, almost bumping into Percy.

"Woah!" Percy said, catching me.

A sword's hilt had almost hit me in the head. If I hadn't dodged it, I would have probably crumpled to the ground.

The person who had attempted to attack me swung his sword at me, but I was ready (or as ready as I would have been). My short sword met his in the air. I did a little victory dance in my head because I found that a little cool, but with my luck, my triumph had to come to an end. He pulled his sword back and jabbed it at my thigh.

"Hey!" Percy yelled, jumping in front of me. "No maiming!"

Percy and the other guy started fighting while I was trying my hardest not to cry. Getting stabbed by a sword was not really part of my agenda. I looked up and recognized the guy who had attacked me.

Ben Allocco.

He was a fast swordsman, but Percy was faster. Percy lunged and swung his sword with incredible speed, I had to stare in awe. He was going to have to teach me everything he knew. I _had_ to be as fast and as skilled as he was when it came to fighting.

After a few minutes of sword fighting, Ben looked tired and out of breath. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to beat Percy, so he did something that neither Percy nor I had expected.

On second thought, maybe I had expected this. Ben absolutely _loved_ using me as a punching bag, after all.

He ducked when Percy swung his sword and ran toward me. Before I could get up, he pinned me down and pointed the tip of his sword to my neck.

"You gonna let me get your flag, Mcdonald?" Ben taunted.

At this point, I was getting angry. What had I done to him that made him act so horribly toward me?

Suddenly, I felt a tug in my gut. I thought it was because I was angry, but it was more than that. I saw Percy coming toward us to get Ben off of me, but before he could, a wave emerged from the creek and took Ben with it back into the river.

I wasn't joking. The water _literally_ grabbed him.

Ben Allocco was gone. Well, for awhile, at least.

A few seconds later, the water spat him out onto the shore. He coughed and wheezed, glaring at me (what's new?).

A loud cheer echoed from the other side of the forest.

Percy mouthed, _we won._

Ben stood up and dusted himself off. He looked at me with a murderous glint in his eyes and said, "Thanks for the bath."

He ran toward the sound of the campers cheering. I stood up and walked over to Percy.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"Poseidon just happened," Percy said with a grin. "You're finally using your powers, little sis."

"Please don't call me that."

Percy put his arm around my shoulders and started to lead me toward the pavilion, but I stumbled and fell.

 _My thigh._

I had forgotten that I was still wounded. Percy turned me around and pushed me gently toward the creek.

"Get in," he said, once we were in front of the water.

I stepped into the river and sighed. The pain in my leg subsided. When I looked at the wound, it was almost gone. It was healing really fast. I spun toward Percy, amazed at what was happening.

"This is so cool," I said.

"Perks of being Poseidon's kid," Percy said.

When my wound was perfectly healed, I stepped out of the water. My shoes and pants were perfectly dry.

"Is this a thing?" I asked, pointing to my feet. "We can't get wet now?"

Percy chuckled. "We can only get wet if we want to. We can also breathe underwater."

My eyes widened. "Oh my gods."

Percy nodded. "Cool, right? Now, we should head back. We have a campfire to get to."


	8. Chapter 8

After the campfire, Percy and I decided to crash. Sleeping wasn't my favorite hobby because of the dreams. Usually, people liked to have dreams, but I always had nightmares.

Tonight, I saw nothing. I thought that I was going to sleep peacefully, but I was wrong.

 _She will get a quest_ , a deep, booming voice echoed throughout the darkness.

 _But sir_ , another voice, a more human one, said.

 _No buts!_ The deep voice roared. _The plan will not fail. She will do exactly what I want her to._

I woke up with a start. I had a feeling that the voices I heard in my dream were talking about _me_. I needed to calm my nerves, so I stood up quietly from my bunk, wanting to get as close to the ocean as possible. I noticed Percy snoring on his bed, and I had to stifle a laugh. I shook my head at him as I left the cabin and walked toward the ocean.

When I got there, I sat by the water. This was probably my favorite place in the whole camp, being a Poseidon kid and all.

Someone sat beside me. I looked to my right and saw a guy who had curly, short, blond hair and brown eyes. He wasn't that tall, but he was still taller than me. He was grinning at me like he knew something about me that I never told anyone.

"Hey," he said, "I'm Felix Harper. You're Rhode, right? Wow, you're another Poseidon kid. I didn't know how this camp handled one of Poseidon's children. I mean, Percy Jackson is the most powerful demigod I've ever met. Now, there are _two_ of you! My head is going to explode."

While he spoke, I suddenly couldn't help but compare him to the first camper I had met when I was here-Ben. Ben Allocco wasn't a man of many words, but this Felix guy...man. He talked as much as he breathed.

"Uh," I managed to say, "yeah. I'm Rhode, and apparently, I am half-Poseidon."

"Must be nice," Felix said wistfully.

"Hm?" I raised my eyebrow at him. "Who's your-"

"Apollo." Felix shook his head and smiled. "Dad's cool, but he sucks at poetry. He made my siblings and me listen to his haikus for hours, once. I bet your dad would never do that."

I grimaced. "I hope not."

Felix chuckled. "Don't worry, Little Mermaid-"

"Little Mermaid?"

"-your dad probably isn't into haikus," Felix continued with a grin. "So, why are you up so early?"

I didn't really want to talk about my nightmare, so I said, "I always woke up early when I was still...you know, _out there_."

"I do too," Felix said. "I like seeing the sunrise."

"Oh, because Apollo and all," I assumed.

"Well, yeah," Felix said. "But the sunrise always reminds me of something else: hope."

He said that with so much conviction in his voice, I almost didn't notice the sadness in his eyes.

"Yeah," I said warily, "hope."

When the wake up call rang through the camp, Felix gave me another huge grin, erasing all traces of the crestfallen look he had in his eyes a moment ago. "Well, Little Mermaid-"

"Please, stop calling me that."

"-that's our cue. It's time for breakfast." Felix stood up and held his hand out for me. I took it and stood up, dusting the sand off of my pants. "We wouldn't want to be late."

* * *

Breakfast went by in a blur. Percy and I were the only ones at our table, but I didn't mind.

After breakfast, Felix pulled me toward the canoe lake. He challenged me to a race, which I declined, so he offered to paddle for both of us. I mean, I knew that the water was 'my turf' and all, but I wasn't really up to challenging someone who had more experience than I did. We all knew how that turned out for me the first time.

I realized how much I liked talking to Felix (or listening, since he did most of the talking). He was pretty easy to hang out with. I didn't have to watch what I was saying, and he made me laugh a lot. His cheerful personality felt like a breath of fresh air from all the bullies I had to face in the mortal world.

"Rhode!"

I twisted my body around toward the sound of the voice that called my name. Percy was standing by the lake, waving at me. A red-headed girl was standing beside him, smiling at me.

"Ooh," Felix said, "time for you to meet the Oracle, I see."

I turned to face Felix. "The Oracle?"

Felix smirked. "You'll see."

Felix paddled toward the shore. When we reached Percy and his friend, Percy grabbed me by the shoulders.

"Hey, man," Percy said to Felix.

"Hi, Percy," Felix said back. I looked at him and noticed that he was blushing. When he saw me staring at him, he stuck his tongue out but looked away.

"So," Percy started, gesturing at the redhead, "this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"Hi, Rachel Elizabeth Dare," I said.

Rachel laughed. "Rachel's fine. I'm the Oracle of Delphi."

"Yeah, Felix told me," I said. "So...what exactly is the Oracle of Delphi?"

Rachel smiled. "Don't freak out, but I spew prophecies from time to time."

"Prophecies?"

"I-" Suddenly, Rachel froze. She closed her eyes for a second, and started to fall. Percy caught her and propped her up in his arms. When she opened her eyes, I was surprised to see that her eyes were a sickly shade of green, not her normal green, and definitely not like Percy's sea green eyes. A thin cloud of smoke swirled around her. She stood up straight, opened her mouth, turned to me, and spoke in a creepy voice:

 _"You shall be betrayed by the one who lost hope._

 _You shall be tricked by stone on a slope._

 _You shall find the one called Doom,_

 _And save the world from imminent gloom."_

Then, Rachel's eyes closed, and she passed out in Percy's arms. She opened her eyes, and they were back to normal.

"Did I…?" She turned to Percy.

Percy nodded gravely. "You did."

Felix looked like he wanted to hurl.

"Felix," I said, grabbing his arm, "are you okay?"

He swallowed, then he tried to give me a smile, but I could tell it was forced. "Now, _that_ was a prophecy, Little Mermaid."


	9. Chapter 9

Percy, Felix, Rachel, and I had gone to the Big House to talk to Chiron about Rachel's prophecy. Chiron looked disturbed.

"I had thought that we wouldn't be hearing any other prophecies, at least, for a while," Chiron muttered. "After the war this summer, I had hoped that maybe we'd have peace for a change..."

"And it's about _Rhode_ ," Percy said, "and being betrayed and tricked, and finding Doom, whatever that means. I say we boycott this quest."

"Percy," Rachel said, "you know we can't go against the Fates."

"But it's about _Rhode_ ," Percy repeated. "Chiron, it sounds dangerous-"

"All quests are kinda dangerous," Felix said.

"Felix has a fair point," Chiron said. "And if the prophecy states that Rhode will-what was it- _'save the world from imminent gloom'_ , then we cannot do anything but prepare Rhode for this quest."

"But Chiron," Percy protested.

"Percy," I said, "it's...it's fine."

I wasn't going to lie. I was terrified. My mind was swimming with all the information I had to take in. Apparently, the Oracle of Delphi thinks that I'm going to save the world.

 _I can't even toast a piece of bread without burning it,_ I thought. _How did they expect me to save the world?_

"Fine," Percy finally said, "but I'm going with you."

The thought made me feel better. Having Percy with me would make the quest seem less impossible.

But of course, because of how _lucky_ I was, anything that made me feel better must be made to make me feel a lot worse.

"You can't," Chiron said firmly.

"Why not?" Percy demanded.

"Percy." Rachel put her hand on my brother's shoulder. "It's too dangerous. Two Poseidon kids working on a quest together...it's a bad idea."

"But-"

"Percy," Chiron said, "no."

Percy didn't look happy, but he knew that Chiron wasn't going to change his mind. He also knew that Rachel was right.

Percy had told me that he could tell I was powerful because two monsters attacked me in a day. If Poseidon's children were that easy to find, I didn't want to think about how much easier it would be for monsters to track two of us.

"Well," Chiron started, facing me, "don't worry, Rhode. We will prepare you as best as we can. We'll also give you everything you'll need for the quest. You can pick two companions to accompany you. A group of three is always best."

I was stumped. I didn't know anyone else I'd want to pick, except Percy, who was already banned from the quest.

"She will just pick one, because I've already chosen the other."

Mr. D appeared from the doorway of the Big House. He didn't look to be in a good mood, but he didn't look angry either. Just indifferent.

"My son will accompany you," Mr. D said. "My children have been ridiculed long enough. He'll prove to be worthy."

A figure followed Mr. D. When he stepped beside Mr. D to show himself, I bit back a scream.

"My son will go on this quest with you," Mr. D said, gesturing to none other than my _favorite_ Dionysus kid, Ben Allocco. His eyes seemed to say, _My son will go on this quest with you, whether you want him to or not._

Before any of us could veto his idea, Mr. D vanished.

Percy frowned. "Chiron-"

"Very well," Chiron said, cutting Percy off. Percy was probably about to say something that could possibly offend Ben. Thank the gods Chiron had stopped him, or else...well, who knew what Ben would have done this time? "Ben Allocco will be your second companion, Rhode. Who will be your third?"

"Uh," Felix interjected, "if I may...um, Rhode, I could go with you."

"Oh, Felix!" I said. He was so silent I had forgotten he was standing next to me. "You don't have to...not that I don't want you there. It just sounds really dangerous."

"Well," Felix said, "you're my friend, Rhode. Even though we only met today, I wouldn't mind trying to save the world with you."

"Aw, isn't that sweet," Ben muttered in disgust.

"All right," Chiron said, "so Rhode Mcdonald, you will have Ben Allocco and Felix Harper by your side."

"Water, wine, and...haikus," Percy said sarcastically. "This is a great combination."

"Oh, hush, Percy," Chiron said. "Believe in your sister."

"Oh, I believe in her," Percy muttered. What he probably meant was, _Oh, I believe in her, but the other two? Not so much._

"Don't worry, Percy," Felix said. "I...I'll try to keep Rhode safe."

"You'll _try_?" Percy growled.

"Percy," I said gently, "stop."

Percy exhaled. "Fine. I'm sorry, Felix. And thanks for promising to try to keep Rhode safe. I really appreciate it, man. It's just that I _just_ got a sister, and I feel like-"

"You feel like I'm your responsibility?" I finished for him. I felt myself getting a little annoyed, but I knew it was because I was scared. If I didn't get angry, I was going to get emotional. I didn't want to show them I was weak, so I chose to get mad instead. "I'm not, okay? If I die out there, then I die. No one's going to miss me. If the Oracle herself says that I need to do this, then I will, or I'll die trying."

I stormed out of the Big House before any of them could say another word. I heard someone following me. I thought it was Percy, but when the person stopped me and twisted me around gently, I was surprised to see Rachel Elizabeth Dare standing there instead.

"Hey," Rachel said, "Percy's just looking out for you."

The anger seeped out of my body and my shoulder slumped. "Yeah, I know."

"He had always been like this," she continued. "When Percy cares about someone, he'll do just about anything for them. Now that you, his new sister, are being sent off to a dangerous quest, well...it doesn't sit so well with him. He was probably trying his best to stay calm."

"That was him trying to stay calm?" I asked. Then, I muttered under my breath: "I don't think he tried hard enough."

Rachel laughed. "He just cares about you. You and him...you guys are family."

 _Family_. The only family I ever had was my mom and my grandmother. Now, I realized, there was a new addition to that. I had an older brother now-Percy. And a father too, apparently. But I had yet to meet Dad.

I smiled at Rachel. "Yeah, you're right."

Just as I had said those words, Percy came running up to us.

"Did I give her enough time to cool off?" Percy asked Rachel.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Percy. Ask her."

Percy turned to face me hesitantly. "Did I?"

I tried to keep a straight face, but I couldn't help but smile. "Kind of."

Percy looked relieved. "Good. Look, I'm sorry, Rhode."

"No more apologies," I said. "We're good."

"Are you sure you want Ben with you, though?" Percy asked. "Felix is a good kid, but Ben...well, I thought he was harmless, but after seeing him attack you not once, but _twice_ …"

"I'll be fine," I reassured him. "It was my fault, anyway. He warned me, but I pushed him, so…"

"Talking about me behind my back?"

I whipped around so fast I almost strained my neck. Ben was standing a few inches away from us, his back against the tree, his arms crossed above his chest.

"Hey, Ben," I said nonchalantly.

He walked toward me. When he was a few inches away from my face, he said, "You're not the only one who doesn't like this, French Fries-"

"French Fries?"

"-but I _am_ going on this quest with you, so I'll just try to make it bearable for me by torturing you." Ben finished with a nasty smile.

"Wait," I said, "French Fries?"

He rolled his eyes. When he backed away, his eyes darkened and his smile turned into a frown. "Watch your back."

Ben walked away before Percy could threaten him again. I was glad Ben had gotten away-I didn't need my overprotective brother to snap at someone else today.

"Oh gods," Percy suddenly said. "What was the first line from the prophecy again? _'You shall be betrayed by the one who lost hope.'_ What if...what if the traitor is Ben?"

Rachel looked deep in thought. "I don't think so, Percy. Ben is a lot of things, but he's not a traitor."

"How do you know?" Percy asked.

"My gut says so," Rachel said.

Percy relaxed a little. "Well, your gut is never wrong. But still…"

"Percy, stop worrying. You know prophecies may have different meanings," Rachel said. She turned to me. "Rhode, just be careful, okay?"

I nodded. I was pretty sure that being careful wasn't really a normal thing for demigods, but I had to try, right?

"Come on, Rhode," Percy said. "You need to train."

Percy said it with so much finality in his voice, I couldn't complain. I could see his determination to train me, which I was grateful for. He wasn't going to let me go on a dangerous quest knowing that I was incapable of taking care of myself.


End file.
